Friday, April 16 2010
Jeremiah 31
Verse of the Week: V3 “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”
1. God Loves and Loves (V1-21)
V3 “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”
God expressed His everlasting love to His people, Israel. Though Israel sinned against God time and time again, God still loved them with an everlasting love. In fact, God has never forsaken Israel even until today though Israel has yet to acknowledge the Lord Jesus as their Saviour. Today, God is also expressing His everlasting love to His people, the Christians, who have believed and trusted in Him. Indeed, God loves, loves and loves!
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
2. God Satisfies and Satisfies (V22-30)
V25 “For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.”
Even though Israel had forsaken God, yet God invited them to come to Him in repentance and He shall satisfy their weary souls and replenish their sorrowful souls.
Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
3. God Forgives and Forgives (V31-40)
V34 “And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Have you heard someone said, “I can forgive this person but I can never forget what he had done to me!” Yet true forgiveness means bearing no grudges and forgetting the hurt.
Matthew 18:21-22 “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, How oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”
The Lord is not saying that you forgive the person only for 490 times, then by the 491st time, you can refuse to forgive. God commands us to always forgive, forgive and forgive!
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, thank You for Your everlasting love.
